Patricia Kaas is a French singer and actress with a mixture of cabaret, jazz, chanson and pop in her songs. She performed "Et s'il fallait le faire" at the 2009 contest in Moscow, representing France.
Kaas's father was a French Germanophone miner, and her mother a West Germanic citizen. It was her mother that encouraged Kaas to become a singer, and at eight years old she was singing songs by various artists, and a few songs in the English language, too. She began professionally singing at age 13. However, she failed to make it into the music business until 1985, when French actor Gérard Depardieu sponsored her.
The following single, Jalouse, was a commercial failure, but it got her introduced to the songwriter Didier Barbelivien. He offered the song Mademoiselle chante les blues to her, which became her first major hit in 1987. At the same time, her debut album of the same title was released, and stayed in the French charts for over two years. It also received a gold certifications and got Kaas a Victoires de la Musique for the best new discovery.
Starting with her 1990 album Scène de vie with her new record company, Kaas slowly became an international star. Following a tour which took her across twelve countries, her debut album claimed diamond status in France and she received a number of other international awards. Her 1994 album, Je te dis vous, became her true breakthrough worldwide, just missing out on the top ten in the German charts and receiving certifications from the rest of Europe. Her worldwide tour included Vietnam, which made her the first star from the western world to perform there post-conflict.
Kaas tried to break through the English market further with the album Black Coffee, but it was never released. Her 1997 album, Dans ma chair, was another major hit, and included a collaborator which would continue to work with her today, Jean-Jacques Goldman.
Throughout the 2000s, she continued with her albums; one honor she received was the First Class Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, which honored her contributions toward the German-French friendship. After 2005, Kaas took a break until 2008.
The following year, she was internally selected to represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow. Fans were encouraged to vote on an online poll which song from her upcoming album, Kabaret, would be her Eurovision entry. Ultimately, Et s'il fallait le faire was chosen by a significant margin, and received positive reviews from the press. It ended up finishing eighth overall.
Since then, Kaas has released an autobiography and an album of her covering Edith Piaf's songs.
Trivia[]
- Patricia Kaas never performed on 16 May, or on a Saturday in general, because her mother died of cancer on that day in 1989. She nevertheless performed at the Eurovision Song Contest that day in 2009.